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E39 (1997 - 2003) The BMW 5-Series (E39 chassis) was introduced in the United States as a 1997 model year car and lasted until the 2004 when the E60 chassis was released. The United States saw several variations including the 525i, 528i, 530i and 540i. -- View the E39 Wiki

What exhaust does everyone recommend? Looking for something less expensive than dinan, I don't want any resonation or drone and want it to be fairly quiet until wot. On my trucks I always go with corsa, which is an ideal exhaust system. Is there a manga flow people like? Thanks.

I too have an 540iA with non-M rear bumper.
I went with the Magnaflow 14815 and I liked it but it was still a little too quiet but better for sure. I then decided to remove the massive Y- resonator. It definately sounded much better outside the car but the resonance at around town speed got too droning for me personally. It was fine at freeway speed, but this being my commuter, it got a little old. I then added an Imco aftermarket resonator in its place but it did not do much, so that was a waste of money. I did keep the original resonator and had it re-installed and I am fine with it now.
Hope that helps.

Magnaflow 14816 and keep the resinator. mine is silent untill i hit it hard. and its a 530 not 540 so i am sure you will like it. the 14816 has bigger tips. the 14815 is for a 3 series the tips are too small for this car.

If you want it not loud, but feel the power of the v8 I would go with a simple muffler delete. This is my car pre-mtec bumper. Just a simple muffler delete and I cut out a small piece of my bumper and added a dual tip.